Has Donald Trump Accidentally Hit Upon His Own Contract With America?
Donald Trump’s wildly changing positions on many issues may have more of a design than we’d realized, and that design may have its roots in the Contract With AmericaRead More »
Great doctors do the impossible; they save the un-savable. Doctors innovate and create new procedures to cure patients at the risk of criticism from their peers, as well as the risks of lawsuits. Great doctors think beyond the known in order to save a patient because the immediate life of the patient is paramount above all else. So why can’t Washington politicians act like great doctors and find a cure to America’s economic problems instead of finding ways to save their political careers? Quite simply, the answer lies somewhere between using so-called “solutions” of the past and being unwilling to risk their political future. Unacceptable and ignorant on both counts.
Bearing in mind the above, America’s once strong economy is slipping away, but why?
The answer is long and complicated, of course. The short version: In the mid to late 1800s, Americans abandoned their free market principles and allowed government-intervening policies to fix problems perceived by society to be unfixable by individuals. As government intervention grew, newer and bigger problems sprouted, and government’s answer to society was to create new and improved policies to fix the previous failed policies. Therefore a cycle of dependency was created based upon the belief that Washington held the ability to fix America’s woes. Unfortunately, all these “fixes” came at the expense of the individual. Tragic.
Washington’s shortsightedness created a festering wound in America’s economy, which spread like gangrene, and continues to spread today. In response to this economic sickness, our noble politicians announce ten and twenty year budget plans to cut the deficit with a hope to save the economy. Oddly enough (or not so odd if one examines America’s economic past), these plans are rehashed policies of yesterday which ignore the present for the promise of a better tomorrow. Myopic? Indeed.
Essentially, Congressional politicians’ plan is to keep America’s economy on life support and kick the can down the road because it is an issue campaign on. You see it every election cycle. From a politician’s perspective it’s brilliant. However, for the family living paycheck to paycheck, it is idiotic and is politics as usual. So then what’s the solution? From an individualist’s standpoint, the answer is clear: Washington must stop evading reality and accept that the federal government has abandoned the free market system. Next, America must fully embrace capitalism, abandoning the mixed economic system that has ruined the economy for far too long. Then deep and immediate spending cuts must be made across the board; no sacred cows. If there is to be a tomorrow for America, then a politician must set aside their collectivist-minded party loyalty, ignore past solutions, and propose to cut out the infected areas that are killing our economy. Yes, it would be a drastic move that ultimately means political suicide within one’s party but American can’t continue to survive by repeating past mistakes.
Republican conservatives talk of the need for a smaller government but play the same Washington game of give and take with back rooms deal makers and power brokers. Worse yet, conservatives keep proposing watered down bills of democrat proposals, which is pure insanity (similar bills but with less intrusion and less cost, yet still coming at a cost of individual rights is asinine). These so-called conservative leaders in Washington are intellectually, ethically, and morally bankrupt when it comes to protecting individual rights. If these conservatives truly want smaller government, then changes must be made at their philosophical core and they must define what they mean by smaller government. Until then, it’s all just mealy mouthed talk. The time is now for conservatives to do what they say to earn votes or get out of the way because our economy can’t remain on life support forever. The status quo is no longer good enough.
The 2014 elections loom on the horizon. Does the conservative electorate want bold doctors willing to try new cures, or do they want the same doctors using bandaids as the patient is dying on the table?